Supporting pallet as associated with a cardboard box



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Sept. 1, I959 P. BRETON 2,902,199

SUPPORTING PALLET AS ASSOCIATED WITH A CARDBOARD BOX Filed Aug.. 1. 1955- INVENTOR PAUL BRE TON ATTORNEYS wd St e Pam 2,902,199 SUPPORTING P LLETAS ASSOCIATE) W ACARDBOARD Box g I Paul Breton, ChateauneufJa-ForeQ-I rance, assignor'to Societ Anonyme de la Papeteriede Chateauneuf-la- Foret, Haute-Vienne, Erance, aF-rench'company 7 Application Angust'l, 1935, Serial No. szsmo Claims priority,-application France July 30, 1 954 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-14) For conveniently lifting loads, it is known to use lifting carriages provided with a forkmember adapted to be introduced under a flat support'especially designed for this purpose and known as a pallet, the load to be lifted having been previouslyqaid on said pallet.

In order, to accommodate the fork member in the pallet, the latter is provided with suitable laterally opening recesses.

The object of the invention is to provide such a supporting pallet that may be constructed in a very simple manner with a light material, the said pallet being furthermore adapted to be removably associated with a cardboard box.

According to another feature of the invention, the pallet is arranged for easy attachment to the bottom face of the box, without resorting to any outer securing means such as clips, adhesive tapes nor even simple adhesive fixation of the bottom face of the box to the pallet.

With this arrangement, it is possible to transport on one side the boxes developed and stacked flat on each other and on the other side and separately, the supporting pallets also stacked on one another, both stacks thus ofiering a maximum compactness. Before using the boxes and pallets, the same may be associated rapidly and conveniently.

The pallet according to the invention may be used with any type of cardboard box, provided that the same offers two parallel slots along two opposite edges.

It is, however, particularly contemplated to associate with such a pallet a cardboard box of parallelepipedic shape, the bottom face of which is constituted by four extensions of the side faces of the box, folded by 90 to form two superimposed pairs of flaps.

According to the invention, the pallet comprises two plates of same dimensions as the bottom face of the box with which the pallet is to be associated, the said plates being assembled by means of spacing members adapted to accommodate between them a lifting fork or the like, and the top plate of the pallet is provided with extensions projecting on either side of the base plate and forming two flaps adapted to be folded to be passed through the above mentioned slots of the box bottom face to keep the pallet in assembled relation with the box.

Due to the presence of the two plates, both faces of the pallet may be smooth even if said plates are both made of corrugated cardboard and spacing members pertaining to separate pallets do not risk to become interengaged during the transport of the pallets. There is thus obtained furthermore an assembly which, while very light, is nevertheless extremely rigid.

All elements of the supporting pallet, including the spacing members are preferably made of corrugated cardboard, each one of said spacing members being then constituted by a coiled strip of such cardboard, preferably stuck at one end on the base plate and at its other end on the top plate of the pallet.

2,902,199 Patented Sept. 1, 1959 "ice "Theinvention also relates toan assembly comprising a cardboard box and a supporting pallet removably assembled together as; described above.

; An example of this inventionis illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which, p

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a supporting. pallet according to the invention, j p

Figure 2 shows a cardboard box suitable'for being assembled with the pallet shown in Figure 1.

3 and 4 are sectional views showing two steps of the assembling process of the box of Figure 2 with the pallet of Figure l. 4 I

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the assembly thus obtained.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of a spacing member along line 6--6 of Figure 4. p

R e ferr ing first to Figure 2, t here is shown: a carclboard box of a suitable type to be assembled with a sup- ,por tingpaliet according to the invention. 1

. The said-box has a generally parallelepipedic shape. Its bottom face is constituted by four extensions of the side faces of the box folded up by around the lower edges of the said side faces. Two of the said extensions (1 and 2 in Figure 2) are located outside the box, in superimposed relation with the two other ones 3 and 4 (see also Figure 3) located inside the same.

The supporting pallet according to the invention comprises a base plate 5 (Figure 1) e.g. made of corrugated cardboard and supporting, through a number of spacing members 6 of same height, a top plate 7 also preferably made of corrugated cardboard. The base plate 5 has a rectangular shape and is exactly cut to the same dimensions as the bottom face of the cardboard box to be provided with this supporting pallet. In the example shown, the top plate 7 has the same width as the base plate 5 but it is longer, so as to olfer two extensions forming flaps 8 and 9 to be folded, as shown, by along lines parallel to the smaller sides of the base plate 5 in planes at right-angle thereto. The flap 8 is shown in Figure l folded flat on the top plate 7, while the other flap 9 is shown slightly lifted on the said plate.

When the supporting pallet is to be transported, both flaps 8 and 9 are disposed flat on the top plate 7. Preferably, each one of the flaps 8 and 9 is given a length equal to half the length of the supporting pallet so as to avoid overlapping on the flaps. There is thus obtained a smooth assembly easy to stack for transporting purposes and offering no projecting part while the flaps are, nevertheless, suificiently long to ensure a good fixation of the supporting pallet under the box.

The spacing members 6 are preferably constituted by coiled strips of corrugated cardboard as shown in the sectional view of Figure 6, and affixed, e.g. by sticking, on the plates 5 and 7. The assembly thus obtained, while being extremely light, is nevertheless sufficiently tough, and the coiled spacing members, well secured at both ends, do not risk to unwind themselves.

For assembling a supporting pallet, as just described, under a cardboard box e.g. of the type shown in Figure 2, the flaps 3 and 4 are first erected along the smaller side faces of the box and then the flaps 8 and 9 are passed through the gaps existing between the pair of flaps 1-2 and the folding lines of the folded up flaps 3-4 until the top plate 7 of the pallet bears flat against the outer face of the two outer flaps 1 and 2 of the box. To fixedly secure this assembly, it suffices to fold the flaps 8 and 9 of the pallet in the direction of the arrows of Figure 4 until they lie flat on the inner faces of the flaps 1 and 2 of the box and then, to fold the flaps 3 and 4 of the box in the same direction to bring them into superimposed relation with the flaps 8 and 9 of the pallet. The latter are thus imprisoned between the outer and inner flaps of the box and the assembly thus obtained offers the aspect shown in Figure 5.

In the illustration shown in the drawings, the supporting pallet offers eight spacing members 6 between which the fork of an elevating carriage or other lifting appliance may be introduced for lifting the whole assembly.

It is obvious that any other number of spacing members of same or any other type could be provided as well, or again, that any spacing structure adapted to accommodate a lifting fork, or the like, could be interposed between the two plates 5 and 7 of the pallet, within the scope of the invention.

It is also possible to form in the folding members 8 and 9 additional pleats to facilitate their introduction into the slots of the box (see at 9' in Figure 3).

What is claimed is:

A transportation package comprising a rectangular cardboard carton the bottom wall of which is constituted by at least three side wall extensions turned from an open bottom end position to a closed bottom end position in which the extensions of a pair of opposite side walls, turned inside the carton, come to lie over the top face of the third extension turned at right angles to its corresponding side wall, and a cardboard pallet including a rectangular top member having a main portion of substantially same dimensions as said bottom wall, two integral flap portions extending each inwardly from one of two opposite edges of said main portion, a rectangular base member of substantially same dimensions as said main portion of the top member, and a plurality of connecting members secured at one end to the upper face of said base member and at the other end to the lower face of said main portion of the top member to hold the latter and said base member in substantially parallel spaced relation, said flap portions of the top member being engaged between the lower face of said opposite side wall extensions and the upper face of said third extension to thereby attach said pallet to said carton.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,571,748 Newman Oct. 16, 1951 2,741,361 Klein Apr. 10, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 452,251 Great Britain Aug. 19, 1936 

